Prof Agus proud to be among 70 academics backing Anwar as PM

Editor's note: Added names of two individuals disassociating themselves from G70.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) former lecturer Mohammad Agus Yusoff today defended his involvement with a group of Malay professors who have openly backed Anwar Ibrahim’s bid to be prime minister.

“I feel proud to be among the 70 Malay professors who support Anwar as the 10th prime minister because we want to see changes in this country.

“This is part of history because this is the first time (academics) have come forward to state our stand,” he told Malaysiakini.

Agus’ expertise is in political science and history.

Agus was among 70 Malay academics who were listed in the “G70 Malay Professors Declaration” document yesterday.

Malaysiakini is attempting to confirm if others listed had indeed endorsed the statement.

However, two of those listed - National Defense University of Malaysia's Ahmad Mujahid Ahmad Zaidi and former UKM lecturer Ishak Yusoff - have denied endorsing the declaration on their respective Facebook pages.

The endorsees had stated that after giving due consideration, they are backing Anwar as prime minister because he was the only person with the experience, credibility, and integrity to lead a diverse society based on the needs of Islam as the religion of the federation.

They also described Pakatan Harapan, the coalition which Anwar leads, to be the best choice to resolve the nation’s economic woes and take care of the interest of Muslims, Malays, and the bumiputera.

Yesterday, the Higher Education Ministry issued a statement claiming that the stance taken by the 70 academics does not reflect the stand of the ministry’s teaching staff.

In a veiled warning, the ministry said teaching staff under its employment are bound by rules.

“The ministry respects freedom of expression among individuals and academic staff.

“However, those serving as civil servants still have to abide by rules and regulations,” said the ministry.

Separately, the National Professor’s Council (NPC) issued a statement condemning retired academics who still used the “professor” titled in the G70 declaration.

In a statement, NPC said retired academics are not allowed to use the “professor” title unless they are appointed as “professor emeritus”.

This was addressed in the epilogue of the G70 declaration. The group said barring the use of the term “professor” by retirees was a bureaucratic matter.

“(Referring to retired academics) as professors is the same as how society still use the ‘cikgu’ or ‘ustaz’ title for teachers throughout their lives,” said the group.

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